Effect of a critical thinking intervention on stress management among undergraduates of adult education and extramural studies programs

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the effect of a critical thinking intervention (CTI) on stress management among undergraduates of adult education and extramural studies programs. Method: A total of 44 undergraduates were randomly sorted into experimental and waitlist control groups. We used the Perceived Stress Scale for data collection at the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up stages. We used unpaired t and paired t- tests to analyze the data collected. SPSS version 22.0 was used for the data analyses (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). Results: It was shown that the CTI was effective in reducing the mean stress of the participants compared to the control group both in the post-test ( t [42] = −22.453, P < .001) and follow-up periods ( t [42] = −34.292, P < .001). There were statistically significant changes in the mean stress of participants in the experimental group from the pre-test to post-test phases ( t [23] = 26.30, P = .000, r = .08], and from pre-test to follow-up( t [23] = 37.10, P = .000, r = .30). The mean stress of the participants in the experimental group from post-test to follow-up signified the sustained positive influence of the CTI on the mean stress ( t [23] = 2.41, P = .000, r = .46) of the undergraduates. Conclusion: This study adds to the literature by showing that a CTI is a valuable strategy for stress reduction in a university environment. Given that the CTI demonstrated the ability to reduce stress among undergraduates enrolled in adult education and extramural studies programs, we hope that similar interventions will be adopted to manage and prevent stress among students in other departments and disciplines.

The chain-mediating role of perceived stress and problematic smartphone use in the link between critical thinking and academic engagement among Spanish adolescents

“…Critical thinking might help to reduce stress levels because it allows individuals to reflect about question stress-inducing stimuli, as well as to reinterpret the experience of uncertainty by identifying the reasons why an individual might feel stressed (Escolà-Gascón et al, 2021). In addition, a few intervention studies have found that training critical thinking helps to ameliorate stress (Okide et al, 2020;Ugwuozor et al, 2021). Nonetheless, the aforementioned studies have not been conducted on adolescent samples.…”

Assessment of stress management coaching among Nigerian pre-service history teachers: A randomized controlled study

“…High PSS-10 scores indicate a high level of stress. [ 28 , 29 ] Scores of 0 to 13 depict low stress, 14 to 26 depict moderate stress, and 27 to 40 depict high perceived stress. [ 28 , 29 ] The PSS-10 is suitable to be used among university students since it was found to have good internal consistency and construct validity, [ 30 ] as well as convergent validity.…”

“…[ 28 , 29 ] Scores of 0 to 13 depict low stress, 14 to 26 depict moderate stress, and 27 to 40 depict high perceived stress. [ 28 , 29 ] The PSS-10 is suitable to be used among university students since it was found to have good internal consistency and construct validity, [ 30 ] as well as convergent validity. [ 31 ] The present study found a Cronbach’s α score of.84 for the internal consistency reliability.…”

Effects of rational emotive occupational health coaching on work stress among academic staff of science and social science education in Nigerian universities

“…RCT sought to measure and compare the outcomes after the participants receive the interventions. This study design has been used by Nwokeoma et al, [ 8 ] Ogbuanya et al, [ 24 , 25 ] Garfield, [ 26 ] Ugwuanyi et al, [ 36 , 37 , 40 , 42 ] Ede et al, [ 38 ] Agboeze et al, [ 39 ] Okide et al, [ 41 ] Abiogu et al, [ 43 ] and Umoke et al [ 44 ] to carry out similar studies.…”